First Strike (open rp)

[sprinkles]

The Goju attack was precise and quiet just as planned. Small bans of samurai were taken out to soften the defense of The Wall.
Chuda Sprinkles gave the order and a small mod of goblins swept in towards The Wall. This was the first strike. The Crab were marching to the north for their own war. So that a large army was not seen amassing in the Shadowlands small mobs of goblins were being used to harass the enemy.
Sprinkles knew that soon the full might of the Spider would be unleashed. By then The Crab would know of this attack and return to The Wall. It was all apart of his plan. He had already sent in spies that lobbied for the Emerald Champion to attack the Lion and it had worked. The Lion who had attacked the capitol were wide open and now the Crab had made the same mistake.
Sprinkles smiled to himself at how well it was all working out. Since Shoju had left he was leading the Chuda now and he would make the Empire fear the Spider once more. Throwing worthless goblins at The Wall would provide a nice distraction. It wasn't as if he was wasting any true strength. But the Empire in it's civil war and now another attack on The Wall would be left torn apart and only the Spider would remain strong...and perhaps the Scorpion. The fact they had not sided in the civil war was disturbing but he would deal with them in time.

[sprinkles]

Reports were returning of success. The Goju were having an even easier time by aid of an unexpected storm. This gave Sprinkles another idea. Shoju had given him the Rain of Blood spell. Using that against the Crab would work nicely. But his timing would have to be perfect to cause any significant harm. He would wait until the full might of the Crab had responded.

[Bayushi Senshi]

A crack of lightning split the sky, providing Sprinkles a brief glimpse of the defenses. Something was wrong. There were too many men there on the wall. This was unexpected.

Almost at once, in a grand manner, torches lit up along the defenses revealing, of all things, a Scorpion banner. The wall lined with Shinobi and Bushi in equal measure, roaring out a war cry worthy of the Kaiu built defenses.

One man stood out among the rest tall and defiant atop a tower of stone wearing a fire maple mempo. A member of the Bitter Lies dojo. Clearly their leader.

Bayushi Kanagetsu twirled his katana over his head as he yelled at the onrushing goblins. He had a role to play in this, for now he was acting the role of figurehead, and soon he would attack the attackers, as is the style of his school. He would do so alone, he looked along the defenses trying to determine the best course of action. Deeper behind the wall, watching from the shadows, was the true tactical master. A shosuro, trained in the akodo war college, named Shosuro Kambe, he waited for the enemy, and dispatched a shugenja to send word to his champion. Detailing that the infiltration of Daigotsu's court was successful, the attack had begun and the Scorpion were prepared.

Far away, in Toshi Ranbo, Senshi smiled as plans of his own began to come to fruition. So far, he thought, this war is going exactly as planned.

[sprinkles]

Sprinkles was surprised to see the army awaiting his troops. He saw the Scorpion banner and smiled however. He assumed the Scorpion would stay out of all affairs and gather their strength, but they had surprised him again.
"Alright I'll play."
His order all troops to attack. He held nothing back. After all, the goblins meant nothing to him.

[Bayushi Senshi]

Kanagetsu waited until the first of the goblins was within striking distance and leaped from the wall into the throngs of the enemy. He howled a mad cry, and seemed that only sheer luck kept him alive for more then 30 seconds. He blunted one portion of the attack, but was soon overcome. It seemed the Scorpion leader was a foolish man, and he would die before his own army. Men amongst the scorpion rained arrows down at the goblins, trying frantically to save their mad leader, but to no avail, before long the man was quartered by the goblins, literally torn to shreds.

Surely now the scorpion would be an easy match?

[sprinkles]

Sprinkles watched the Scorpion leader jump from the Wall and then lost track of him in the mob. Surely he would not survive long. Such a move was foolhardy. While it was not the outcome he was expecting it would do for now. Perhaps the goblins alone would crush the Wall and give him victory without having to sacrifice any of his troops. Perhaps.

[Bayushi Senshi]

Shosuro Kambe watched the battle for what it was, a meat grinder. The foe would use raw attrition to turn Goblins and Samurai into carrion. And Kambe's troops were far more valuable and harder to replace. Something needed to change, and quickly. He was beginning to understand what made the Crab clan's duty so important.

[Kakita Ren]

In his head Kakita Ren saw that same image over and over. The brave samurai jumping into the fray, cleaving goblins with feirce swings of his katana, luck or the fortunes guiding him. A brave samurai... perhaps also foolish.

Had he been that foolish once, when he went by another name, had he been that impatient, that impetuous. Ren thout that he probably had.

Looking at his own men as they fired another volly of arrows he could have wept in joy to think that they had accompanied him. Thirty of them had chosen to abandon their homes when Ren's old friend Hida Takumi, infamous in his clan for his decision to support the Hantei, had told him of the Shadowlands attack. Thirty of them had shared in Ren's belief that their homes meant nothing if the empire was in thrall to Jingoku, that their lives meant nothing if the Shadowlands won through. Thirty of them had accompenied him to the wall to stand for the first duty of every samurai, every citizen of the empire. Protect the empire, protect their way of life. Thirty had come, thirty more than Ren had expected. Thirty men who had no idea of the fear that an Oni could give. Thirty brave souls... or thirty foolish ones.

"Only fools and heroes tread where other men dare not" Ren muttered to himself as his soldiers fired again

The circumstances were dire. At first Ren had worried what his clan might say when they had ound he had gone to fight for the wall without their permission, now he did not know if he would come back alive for the clan to do anything at all. Ren did not fear death, all Bushi learnt to let go of that fear at a young age, but the fact that these men may not be able to go home to whatever they had left worried him.

Ren threw down his bow, he was never much of an archer anyway, He left a more experienced and loyal budoka in charge and headed to find a commander, he had a plan, a foolish one - or brave.

[Kuni Kaymar]

The Lord of the Kuni rode hard the last few miles to Kyuden Hida. Word of the attack had reached him and he was furious. The previous oni attack was obviously just to weaken the walls - that his predecessor had sacrified himself just made it worse.

The witch hunters jaw clenched even tighter the closer he got. The Crabs on the wall seemed almost in disarray. Not from the attack itself, but from the way the Scorpion had taken over the defence, the majority of the Crab seemed at a loss, unsure how to support the strange tactics being employed.

Kaymar reached the wall, his horse almost collapsing beneath him. With a dismissive scowl he dismounted. If the beast died so be it - the wall was more important. He was quickly joined by his retinue as he began to march to the ramparts.

Word seemed to spread quickly. A Crab Damiyo had returned to the wall, and the attacking hordes would pay.

[sprinkles]

Sprinkles ordered for a body to be brought to him. Shortly after a Scorpion samurais body was laid at his feet. He sliced open the belly and dipped his hand in. Then bent the wind to his command. A breeze picked up. Nothing over powering but it would make the archers job much harder.

[Kakita Ren]

Even as the foul wind whipped around them, Ren smiled as he heard the news. A crab Daimyo at the wall meant more chance of life here, and more chance of life for his allies and the crane at lonely shore.

For a moment he doubted his decision to leave, picturing the devestation that both armies had caused in the fighting, but looking down at the hideous goblins that smashed themselves into the fray he reafirmed the confidence in his choice.

Ren left to find this returning Champion, he knew not how to defend a wall and needed a swift teacher.

[Kuni Kaymar]

With a frown the Kuni Damiyo stopped before the stairwell to the ramparts and cast his gaze around. Finally spotting what he had hoped to see, Kaymar bellowed "You! Kaiu!" The Kaiu target stopped, eyes wide. "Get the seige crews back on the wall. NOW!"

Not waiting for a reply, he spun on his heel, he turned and pointed at another Crab Samurai, this time a Hiruma. "You!" the witch hunter started. The Hiruma started to open his mouth, only to snap it shut again as he saw the fire burning in the glare of the Kuni. "Find me a liaison with the Scorpion commander." The air of hostility flowed from the Damiyo as he started his way up the stairs.

The sounds of the goblin hordes soon began to reach the priest, and he was not amused. A mood that was not eased upon spotting a Crane samurai moving in his direction.

[Bayushi Senshi]

Kambe watched as some more crab got into position nearby. And noted the arrival of a prominent Kuni. Good, a shugenja, just what we need.

Within moments he was talking to a winded Hiruma, stating that the Kuni daimyo wished to speak with his liason. Kambe summoned a Baysuhi nearby and within minutes the Hiruma was by Kuni Kaymar's side with a Bayushi in tow. He bowed, "Kuni sama."

[Kakita Ren]

Ren hesitated seeing the dark mood of the Kuni damiyo. In the fury and chaotic battle of his breif time at the wall the War of the Two Emperors seemed a lifetime away. It never would be though, not for Ren and not for this Kuni, who had both removed themselves from that war to make sure there was an empire to fight over.

Again Ren was thinking what the Crane would do to him for moving from Lonely Shore to the Kaiu Wall. A distraction he could not afford at this moment in time.

Ren bowed very low in greeting to the crab, a sign of not only there places in the celestial heirachy, but also in deference to his much greater experience in these matters of warfare.

"Kuni-Dono, I have brought men from the Crane to help defend the wall against the shadowlands assualt," Ren's words were a little halting as though he was unsure of what to say to a man who was technically at war with him. "We are few but we mean to stand against the coming storm."

Ren hesitated more now, it was not in any samurai to freely admit weakness

"My schooling is not so much in the ways of seige warfare Kuni-Dono, give me a man to duel and I may slay him, give me a task to do and it will be done without fear or hesitation, but I must confess, I know not what to do now, how can I help you protect the empire?"

[Kuni Kaymar]

Kaymar listened to the Crane and nodded, before turning to the Crimson and Black clad Samurai at his side.
"We are on the wall and under attack. I may have been ambassador to several clans, but to damn with courtesies at a time like this. If anyone " and the Kuni's eyes flickered back to the Kakita briefly "has issues about this, they can take it up with me later. If they survive." After a brief pause, the witch hunter continued.

"Setsuro-dono and the Scorpion have come to an arrangement and I mean to honour it. Tell the commander on the wall they have my support in whatever action they commit. I expect no more from them than I would from a Crab in their position." Kaymar's tone was firm, underlying that his words were both intended as an honour and a warning.

His visage softened slightly before he continued again. "Tell your commander that I will be assigning three shugenja from my family to be at his, or her, support and that I have had words with the Kaiu to ensure they get back to their positions. The seige weapons will be at your clans disposal."

The Crab turned back to the Kakita. "As the current Ambassador to the Crane, welcome to Crab lands. I do hope you enjoy your visit. Please accompany me to the ramparts, where I intend to shatter that accursed unnatural wind that is hampering the archers. After that I suggest you report to the Scorpion commander, whomever that may be."

Still fuming at the indignity of the attack, the Kuni started to make his way upwards again, expecting if anyone wished to reply to do so as they moved. His left hand subconciously raised to his jade amulet and a feral grin started to spread across his face.